aaawwww-zeeee, aaawwww-zeeee (a flashback)

this was the “pre-game”…


09/07/2002: “the plan was simple…TOO simple.”

it’s just a hair before noon on saturday, september 7th, in the great state (nation, according to some) of texas. today is two things: junior’s birthday celebration (actual day to follow next week…or is it tomorrow? i’m a guy…we don’t remember these things) and ozzfest 2002, which is where i’m SUPPOSED to be meeting junior in a few hours.

see, i thought the damn thing was supposed to start around 2:00 in the afternoon or so…but that’s ’cause i got a “hook up” on a ticket, so it’s at will-call, so i don’t have it in hand yet. “hook-up” meaning i paid $100 instead of $120 for a single ticket, therefore wrangling the evil empire (ticketmaster) out of their chunk of my money…but still a hell of a chunk of change.

i went to the first ozzfest in SA back in 1997 for free. the girl i went with (she drove ’cause she had just gotten a new maxima she was in LOVE with) went to see one of the opening bands, type o negative. i went to see ozzy. plain and simple. fuck type o, fuck pantera, i went to see the ozz. well, after type o she was ready to split. “no fucking way”, i said…i wanted to see ozzy. she (impatiently) waited around, made it about half-way through ozzy’s set, and INSISTED we leave, or she would leave without me (the excuse was “to beat alamodome traffic”). not wanting to be stranded, i had to roll…and haven’t gotten a chance to see ozz since. oddly enough, haven’t gone out with her since, either.

back to the whole “show time” thing…i THOUGHT it was supposed to start around 2:00, but junior called me last night to tell me the first band hit the stage at 9:30 in the morning….WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT? i know there’s at least two stages, and i know i only have REAL interest in three bands…sytem of a down, rob zombie, and ozzy. and it rained earlier, so when THAT clears away it’s gonna be NASTY-ASSED humid. i had to think…for the money i paid, how much time do i want to sit and sweat my ass off knowing that out there bottled water runs $2 for a half liter? and how much EXTRA do i wanna see to justify the buck i sunk?

well, at any large fest they have TONS of line-up sheets everywhere that tell you bands and times. maybe i’d miss some second-stage gem (like slipknot a few years ago) maybe not…but at least i would know the time of the golden three off of those sheets…and since junior wanted to walk through the door at 9:30, and we were taking separate cars, no need for us BOTH to suffer if the pre-SOAD line-up left a bit to be desired, right? so i was supposed to call him when i got up (about five minutes before i started writing this) and see what was up. and THIS is where our plan went to hell.

i don’t know who his “provider” is, but i know his plan is cheap…and apparently, doesn’t cover the SA area; ’cause when i call, i get a “this subscriber has traveled outside of their coverage area” recording, and i can’t reach him. even worse, that means that when i DO finally get there, i can’t reach him, either…so i have to FIND his lanky ass. i’ve been told more than once recently that the best way to INSURE my plans get fucked prison-style is to make them in the first place (okay, so maybe I added the whole ‘prison-style’ part, but you get the idea). either way, words of wisdom…

on top of that, today is the 25th anniversary party for sundance records, where i worked for four years; so i WAS gonna stop by that on the way. now, not so sure…but i have to at least put in an appearance, then it’s off to ozzland to hopefully find junior. of course, i’m sure y’all can read about the rest (provided i survive) tomorrow.

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